Flashback to 1986. The year my sister saved me from Hair Bands (the music, not the accessory) with The Smiths.

Hair Bands, Glam Rock, Glam Metal, Pop Rock, whatever you want to call it. It started in the late 70s, continued through the 80s and petered out in the beginning of the 90s. I loved it all. I even had big hair along with them. The music was fun, the videos hilarious-Van Halen’s especially- and the songs catchy.

Remember those splits? God love him!

But then one fine day in 1986, my older sister was playing some new music I had never heard before in her room. It caught my ear and I had to know what she was listening to. I mean she was much cooler than me. “Bigmouth Strikes Again” by The Smiths she said through a crack in her door and passed me the album. “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side” played next. That was it for me. Hooked. As much as I love Rock, Folk, Blues, Rap, R&B, Classics, Pop, even Heavy Metal, my absolute favorite is Alternative/Indie. Hands down. She would blast R.E.M., The Smiths, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Echo and the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, New Order, The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and the Mary Chain-to name a few. These bands and their songs spoke to me like none other. And many of the songs appeared in some of the best movies (of all time) by John Hughes, in my humble opinion. The 80s were amazing and I don’t care what anyone says about that decade! After The Smiths broke up in 1988, fans only had to wait six months before Morrissey released his first solo album. Whew. I just lurve him! But not as much as my sister. She is the #1 fan. No, seriously. Don’t even argue with her.

Yesterday was the release of Morrissey’s memoir, which I have ordered and can’t wait to read. Reviews are already coming in saying “it is the best written musical autobiography since Bob Dylan’s Chronicles” – Neil McCormick from The Telegraph. Find it here at Amazon.

Also releasing October 22nd is the Blu-ray of Morrissey: “MORRISSEY 25 LIVE is a legacy concert film marking 25 years of the solo career of one of the world’s most iconic and enigmatic performers.”–>>Amazon

The hardest part of this post was picking just one Smiths song. As I played through their albums on my ipod I would hear one song and say “ooh, this one!” Then the next track would start and I would change my mind and say, “No, this one!” And so this went on and on and I sang along, I cried, I danced, I swooned, I reverted back into my teenager/angsty self and today basically became a Smiths/Morrissey Day. But all in all here is the song that started my love for Alternative Music and most importantly The Smiths and Morrissey: